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Two men have been taken into custody as an element of an investigation into the dumping of many thousands of tonnes of refuse in a rural field in Oxfordshire, England.

Law enforcement reported that a 69-year-old was detained at a property in Andover, Hampshire, while a 54-year-old was taken into custody in Slough in association with the massive mound of rubbish deposited near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These detentions occur a week after a recent report which exposed the existence of more than 500 unlawful sites across the country of England, including at a minimum of 11 so-called "large-scale sites" bigger than 20,000 tons.

A official for the environment authorities stated that the apprehensions were for environmental and financial violations and represented a "crucial step" in active probes. The two individuals have been set free on conditional release.

Magnitude of the Situation

The illegal site in near Kidlington, located between the River Cherwell and the A34 road, is estimated to contain approximately 21,000 tonnes of refuse in a pile which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) high.

This pile of garbage is made up of what seems to be treated household waste, fragmented plastic items, polystyrene, tires and various domestic items.

It constitutes just a single of 517 unlawful dumps in England, at least 11 of which are estimated to hold in excess of 20,000 metric tons of rubbish. They include a 280,000-tonne area in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne sites in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne dump in the county of Kent.

The overall number of such larger sites is probably to be larger, as the environmental body has in the past acknowledged it does not maintain records on tonnage for all illegal dump.

A large proportion of such locations are in agricultural areas, frequently hidden, and on land that is intended to be agricultural property.

Organised Activity

Authorities say many are managed by criminal organizations, who are earning profit by charging far less than licensed operators to take and landfill waste.

Companies have to incur gate fees to use legitimate landfill sites, based on the volume and type of material they are trying to get rid of, and a disposal levy is also applied at just over £126 per ton.

Local Outrage

Preparation work to remove the affected dump commenced recently amid fears over the potential of fire and the impact that would have on the nearby major road.

A contracted clean-up firm has been given the contract to remediate the site over the following 12 months at a cost of £9.6m.

An compliance officer for the government environmental crime division stated that the agency would be looking to claim back the remediation funds under asset recovery acts from any individual successfully found guilty at the end of its ongoing inquiry.

She further stated that the recent detentions would help "push the probe forward" and enable officials to "pursue more leads to determine in detail what transpired and who was implicated".

"The unlawful site at Kidlington was an atrocious and intentional attack on our ecology and the authorities share the local frustration at this egregious act," she said.

A government official supported the detentions, commenting: "The illegal deposit of rubbish at this location is disgraceful and has resulted in substantial damage to the environment and anguish to the local population.

"The administration is dedicated to stamping out this type of illegal activity throughout the UK, by augmenting funds to address environmental crime, hiring more personnel and implementing more severe controls and penalties for those who break the rules."

The apprehensions were made on the specified day by personnel from a dedicated crime team and follow an earlier apprehension of a 39-year-old from the Surrey region in November. He was released subject to additional enquiries.